"As of January 1, 2021, employers should have begun withholding employee contributions (0.5% of each paycheck) to the Connecticut Paid Leave Authority Trust Fund. March 31, 2021 -- first quarterly payment due date. June 30, 2021 -- second quarterly payment due date. September 30, 2021 -- third quarterly payment due date. Late 2021 -- employees may apply for benefits."

"The HCRA imposes on 'electing' health claim payers -- including self-funded plans -- an annual [covered lives arrangement (CLA)], which is based on the number of covered individuals (and families) who live in New York. The state lets payers 'elect' to pay the CLA per covered individual directly to the state's Professional Educational Pool.... The CLA rates and surcharges vary among eight regions, and the applicable rate depends on where the covered individual resides or receives in-state hospital care."

"This update expands on our initial Infographic, tracking the expansion of paid sick leave laws, both in terms of geography and variations, over the last two years and examining the status of the nation's anti-local sick leave law stockpile."

"Assembly Bill 1867 established a new Small Employer Family Leave Mediation Pilot Program.... [1] Who may use this program? ... [2] When to request mediation? ... [3] What happens when a request for mediation is made?"

"The recently revised guidance from the DFML applies to intermittent and reduced schedule leaves taken for the employee's own serious medical condition or for qualifying exigency leaves.... For these types of leaves, the minimum increment when taking intermittent leave may not exceed one hour. The rule will apply in this manner for both public and private plans."

"For the first time in 2021, employers who have employees who are residents of the State of California may have reporting responsibilities as a result of the State's individual mandate which went into effect in 2020.... Who needs to file with the State of California? ... When must an employer furnish the Form 1095-C to the requisite employees and file the Forms 1094-C and 1095-C with the State of California? ... We are quickly approaching the middle of January which means employers are running out of time to furnish the Forms 1095-C to the requisite employees by the February 1, 2021 deadline."

"California employers should proceed with caution and take care to not pull the proverbial rug out from under employees who were availing themselves of available SPSL prior to December 31 and who, but for its sunset, had SPSL leave remaining or seek to remain on leave into 2021."

"Covered employers who voluntarily continue to offer FFCRA leave through the first quarter of 2021 will be eligible for the FFCRA tax credit, which reimburses employers for the cost of providing FFCRA leave. For New York employers, though, their responsibilities under Senate Bill 8091, which guarantees certain leave, benefits and job protections to employees affected by COVID-19, remain in full force."

"Under the state law, January 1 marked the date that covered employers must permit eligible employees to begin using sick leave benefits they have accrued since the law's September 30, 2020 effective date. Although the statewide mandate is now fully in effect, employers should continue to look out for further developments at the state level, including final regulations. Under the city mandate, January 1 marked the beginning of the law's increased annual usage cap for certain sized employers."

"D.C.'s COVID-19-leave laws took effect on March 11, 2020, and are set to expire on March 31, 2021. In 2020, employers subject to both the FFCRA and these D.C. laws generally fulfilled their D.C. COVID-19 leave obligations when they provided FFCRA leave to covered employees. Now, employers with workers in D.C. should ensure they provide D.C. COVID-19 leave to covered employees who need it."

"Covered individuals may apply for up to 12 weeks of family bonding leave for the birth, placement or adoption of a child in 2020 ... The leave must be taken with 12 months of the qualifying event. The application for other types of leave are expected to open on January 1, 2021.... [T]he Department has issued Emergency Regulations that allow an employee of an acute care hospital to request that the period for taking PFML bonding leave for a birth, adoption or foster care placement that occurred during calendar year 2020, be extended beyond the normal 12-month post-birth/placement period as long as the employee completes the leave by December 31, 2021.... The Department also issued another set of Emergency Regulations to reflect statutory changes to definitional terms recently enacted by the Legislature."

"[S]tarting January 1, 2021, CFRA will apply to employers with only 5 or more employees ... Other critical changes include the ability of employees to take leave to care for grandparents, grandchildren, siblings and domestic partners, in addition to parents, children and spouses, and the availability of leave for qualifying military exigencies."

"Covered employers are permitted to extend partially paid FFCRA leave and to claim a payroll tax credit for qualifying leave taken through March 31, 2021. FFCRA rights expire on December 31, 2020, for employees of covered companies who do not voluntarily elect to extend the benefits. Employers must still accommodate employees with disabilities and comply with employee protections mandated by state and local laws."

"Employers with employees who had been on FFCRA leave, which will expire on December 31, 2020, should evaluate the circumstances of continued leave ... Employers allowing employees to continue their FFCRA leave up to the original leave entitlement may claim the payroll tax credit until March 31, 2021. Employers should evaluate what leaves and benefits may be available to employees seeking time off for COVID-19 related reasons, beyond the FFCRA and California COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave law."

"For employers with employees working in Massachusetts, [the optional extension of leave under the FFCRA] may introduce some confusion as to how the FFCRA leaves will interact with leaves allowed under Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave (MAPFML) which become available January 1, 2021.  In some cases, the FFCRA and MAPFML leaves will accrue concurrently."

"Many employers that applied for an exemption were approved for an initial one year period beginning on October 1, 2019 and ending on September 30, 2020. The Massachusetts Department of Paid Family and Medical Leave then extended that initial year of the Private Plan exemption until December 31, 2020.... If an employer does not renew the exemption on or before December 31, 2020, the employer will be responsible for remitting contributions to the Trust Fund retroactive to October, 2019."

"The Division stated that, at this time, the 80-hour PHE Supplement requirement continues until at least January 24, 2021 (four weeks after the expiration of the latest emergency declaration). However, the PHE Supplement requirement will extend deeper into 2021 if further renewed, extended, and/or amended emergency declarations continue to be issued ... An employer's PTO/vacation policies can satisfy the HFWA requirements, but [the authors] recommend certain revisions to ensure compliance."

"[Recent Colorado] guidance includes two unexpected interpretations: [1] Employers of all sizes must provide Public Health Emergency Paid Sick Leave in 2021; and [2] Employers must provide up to 80 hours of Public Health Emergency Paid Sick Leave in 2021 regardless of whether they already supplied paid leave related to COVID-19 in 2020."

"Earlier this year, Colorado enacted a complex paid sick leave law, the Healthy Families and Workplaces Act (HFWA), which requires Colorado employers to provide three distinct types of paid sick leave: [1] up to 80 hours of COVID-19 emergency paid sick leave (CO-EPSL); [2] up to 48 hours of paid sick and safe time (PSST); and [3] supplemental public health emergency paid sick leave (PHEL) (up to a maximum of 80 hours). The CO-EPSL portion of the law is in effect from July 15, 2020 through December 31, 2020, while the remaining two portions -- PSST and PHEL -- imminently take effect on January 1, 2021."

"On December 23, 2020, the Division of Labor Standards and Statistics in the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) adopted temporary or emergency rules concerning the Healthy Families and Workplaces Act (HFWA) as it applies beginning on January 1, 2021. Specifically, the rules interpret the HFWA's requirement that employers provide employees with supplemental paid sick leave of up to 80 hours for a public health emergency to be applicable toall employers, regardless of size and industry, and immediately upon January 1, 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic."

"[California employers] with five or more employees must participate in CalSavers if they do not already have a workplace retirement plan. Employers that do sponsor their own retirement plan must register their exemption from the state mandate.... [Oregon businesses] that do not offer a qualified retirement plan and are currently issuing payroll are required to implement the OregonSaves program.... Oregonian employers that sponsor a qualified retirement plan don't have to participate in the program but must certify their exemption and renew it every three years."

"While the covered absences under the Ordinance are similar to absences covered under the federal [FFCRA], Pittsburgh's COVID-19 Sick Time will remain available for use after the FFCRA's current December 31, 2020 sunset date."

"By now, you have notified your workforce about benefits and contributions, displayed a poster informing them of the same, determined the size of your workforce and who is a 'covered individual,' begun making deductions on behalf of eligible employees or applied for a private plan exemption, and more.... [On] January 1st, 2021, employees will become eligible to take leave under the PFML. Employers can prepare by consulting with counsel regarding your obligations, updating employee handbooks, and reviewing the types of leave your employees may be eligible to take."

"The DFML states on its website that 'EMPLOYERS MUST TAKE ACTION' (emphasis in original) by registering a 'leave administrator,' and thereby creating an Employer Account, in order to receive DFML notices showing when employees have started and submitted applications for leave under the PFML Act and when their applications have received determinations."

"The regulations, unfortunately, do not clarify whether the employer headcount determination is based on a state or national employee complement, and whether employers can require a specific amount of notice for the use of protected time, among many other open issues. Further, the regulations do not address whether an employer that frontloads the required 40 or 56 hours must carry over time despite the statute's express limitation on annual usage of 40 or 56 hours."